Improvement in pavements for streets



Patemed Mg, 2g, 1871.

DEX/ALMi mwovement in Straat Pavements.

UNITED STATEs PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. DE VALIN, OF SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN PAVEMENTS FOR STREETS, &c.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. DE VALIN, of Sacramento, in the county ofSacramento and State of California, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Street-Pavements; and I hereby declare the following' tobe a full, clear, and exact description of the same, refer ence beinghad to the accompanying drawing,in which- Figure 1 is a sectionalelevation, and Fig. 2 a plan view of pavements constructed in accordancewith my invention.

In the construction of street-pavements the choice of the materials ofwhich they are to be made is necessarilyT dependent upon the localityand upon the cost of the material employed. Thus wood and stone will beemployed for the purpose of paving in localities where these materialscan be obtained at comparatively low price. But in localities whereneither can be had at a cost that Would justify the employment of thesematerials for paving purposes, but where there is abundance of clay, noadequate means have heretofore been suggested or used to supply thewant. The object of my invention, therefore, is to make use of suchmaterial in localities where it abounds for the purpose of producingtherefrom a pavement which, in point of cheapness, durability, andsmoothness, and consequent freedom from noise, shall not be excelled bythe best wooden pavement. To this effect I prepare blocks of clay,molded'and baked, or bricks of suitable forni and size for pavingpurposes, and coat them with or immerse the same in coal-tar or othersuitable hydrocarbon.

To enable others to make and use my said invention, I now proceed todescribe the manner in which the same is or may be carried into effect.

The clay I use is suitably prepared, as is usual in the manufacture ofgood brick, and it is molded into blocks of any of the various forms andsizes, as hereinafter shown. According to the mode of laying theseblocks with or without other materials, such as concrete or wood,interposed, they are shaped into cubes or other rectangular prismaticforms, with or without bevel edges or tapering' sides. Inasmuch as theseblocks are formed in molds, they may be easily made slightly curved toconform to the surface of the roadway, and the sides and top and bottommay be currugated, or provided with projections and depressions for themore perfect interlocking of the blocks, or to give a rougher surface,as the case may be. I have shown a few modifications of pavement inillustration ofthe simplest and cheap est forms.

When the blocks are to be laid with concrete between them the blocks maybe made tapering 011 one or both sides, as shown at A and B,respectively. These blocks are placed flat on their broad base on awell-dressed foundation, and the interstices between them are thenfilled up with concrete, as shown at a and b, respectively; or, thebricks may be made, as shown at C, with vertical sides, but having arecess formed on one side, which is iilled up with concrete in a mannersimilar to the last. rIhe rows of concrete in either case ought to beformed transversely to the street, so as to afford foothold for thehorses. Rectangular blocks may be combined with one or more strips ofwood, as shown at D d and E c. In the former a narrow strip of wood isplaced edgewise transverselybetween the rows of blocks or bricks 5 inthe latter two strips of wood are placed side by side7 the contiguousupper edges of which are beveled to produce, in effect, channeling forthe better foothold of the horses.

Vhen only bricks or blocks are used without the interposition of wood orconcrete, I prefer to mold the blocks so that the contiguous upper edgesmay be beveled either on all four sides, or at least transversely to theroad, as shown at H.

The blocks are in all cases laid on a well-prepared sand or otherfoundation, and when laid the whole is covered with tar or asphaltum,care being taken to put on suiiicient to iill all the openings, so as tomake the pavement as nearly as possible water-tight.

'lo render the bricks or blocks less liable to absorb moisture they maybe saturated wholly or to any required depth with coaltar or any othersuitable hydrocarbon by being pl aced in a suitable vessel provided withan' air-pump or other suitable device to exhaust the air, and subjectedto suiii cient pressure to insure perfect saturation; or they may beplaced in coal-tar in a-n open vessel and left there suiiicient time tobe thoroughlypermeated.

Having now described my invention and the 3. The combination, with clayblocks coated or saturated With coal-tar, as described, of concrete,substantially in the manner and for the purposes herein set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification beforetwo 'subscribing Witnesses. 'Y

WM. H. DE VALIN.

Witnesses:

A. COMTE, Jr., GEO. P. KANE.

